The last public words as Pope

From the balcony at Castel Gandolfo:

"Thank you, thank you from my heart. I am happy to be here with you, surrounded by the beauty of Creation and your friendship that does me so much good, thank you for your friendship, for caring. You know that today is different from others… as of eight pm I will no longer be the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. I will simply be a pilgrim who is beginning the last part of his pilgrimage on earth. But with my heart, my love, my prayer, with all my inner strength, I will work for the common good and the good of the Church and all humanity. And I feel greatly supported by your affection. Let us move forward together with the Lord for the good of the Church and the world. I will now impart upon you all my Apostolic Blessing
Thank you and good night. Thank you all"!

The balcony is now empty. In two hours, as the February 10/11, 2013, declaration of renunciation enters into force, the Roman See will be vacant.

God bless you Holy Father. May Our Lord fill your remaining life on earth with peace, with His closeness, and grant you and all of us the grace of final perseverance. Thank you for centering the Church again on Jesus Christ.

The Holy Father really does look much more aged this last year. A religious sister I know took communion from him in December; she observed that such was his appearance that she would not have been surprised to learn that he had died the next week.

Something tells me that the Holy Father's action is prophetic concerning the entire Church at a later date: to "officially" disappear: yet abide hidden in Christ and dynamically alive in prayer until God decrees otherwise.

I watched the Departure. Sad. It's so poignant to see it unfold even though it was simple and straightforward. The views we got glimpses of were awesome. Would have been more exciting I think if the circumstances were a lot less somber.

His words at the balcony of Castel Gandolfo were short and to the point.

Athelstane, I agree with that. I was there in October for the canonization of St. Kateri, and he looked so frail and weak that I thought he must not have long to live. But may God grant him more years.

I remember seeing him in Rome in 1987 and don't recognize him as the same person. While he was a liberal at V2, I enjoyed some of his writing, especially the Ratzinger Report. I think that marked the first time someone involved in that council candidly admitted that it had not yielded good things.

No matter how much I disagreed, and frankly, felt scandalized, angry, and confused, by the abdication, and no matter how much more I wish he would have done during his reign, I am so profoundly sad to see Papa Benedetto leave. It was heartbreaking, I think more heartbreaking than if he had died. My intuition goes against it but I hope that we continue to see and hear from him. May God Bless him. Whatever more I wished he would have done, he was a true and great Pope.

I too love Pope Benedict XVI and tradition,but you must admit that John Paul II also left the Church in better shape than he found it. If you don't believe this, then clearly you are under the age of 40 and don't remember what things were like in the early 80s.